Musicians wearing braces experience pain and discomfort and injury to the superior and/or inferior labia mucosa while playing a brass instrument. Brass instruments have mouthpieces (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the "instrument's mouthpiece") which provide an opening for receiving a projected stream of forced air from the musicians mouth. The instrument's mouthpiece abuts the exterior side of the lip and/or mouth/lip area. However, if the musician is wearing braces along the upper and/or lower teeth, the wiring and bracing elements become embedded in the superior and/or inferior labia mucosa causing injury thereto which results in pain and discomfort. While there are protective mouthpieces which are received in the mouth between the teeth and the lips to protect against trauma, such protective mouthpieces are not anatomically designed for musicians to allow the musician's lips to be puckered in a manner suitable for forcing air through the lips to play an instrument.
Several devices have been patented which are aimed at mouthpieces.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,533,523, to Bass, Jr. et al., entitled "MEDICAL MOUTHPIECE" discloses a mouthpiece having two spaced flanges to fit over the outside of the lips on the proximal end of the mouthpiece and behind the front teeth on the distal end of the mouthpiece with the intermediate space to be clamped between the bitting front teeth. A central hollow passageway permits the instrument to be inserted. A lower curved tongue plate extends inwardly and downwardly to depress the patients tongue and to guide the forward end of the instrument.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,447,168, to Bancroft, entitled "MOUTHGUARD" discloses a mouthguard for protecting lips against impact trauma on orthodontic appliances (braces), protecting teeth from sports trauma, protecting teeth from clashing together or grinding; and protecting the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) from traumas due to a blow to the mandible. The mouthpiece comprises a curved flexible element, having two or more substantially central apertures extending therethrough and a notched portion on the upper and lower surface thereof. On the inner posterior surface of the element, an inwardly projecting portion extends at right angles thereto on each side of the aperture and designed to be grasped by the teeth. The mouthguard lays against the outer surface of the teeth with the curved flexible element and extends into the buccal folds superiorly and interiorly of the cheek where the muscles hold it in place.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,300, to Horst, entitled "GUARD FOR PROTECTING THE CORNER OF A PATIENT'S MOUTH" discloses a guard made of soft flexible material and includes a pair of hinged wings adapted to be placed in straddling relation with the cheek of a dental patient. A forwardly facing and generally V-shaped throat is formed in the forward margins of the wings and cradles and cushions a dental instrument to prevent the instrument from causing sores in the corner of the patient's mouth.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,731, to Harding, entitled "ORAL PROPHYLACTICS" discloses an elastic and flexible oral prophylactic that conforms to the mouth, including the lips and tongue. The oral prophylactic is made of impermeable or permeable material and is primarily designed to prevent the spread of disease during oral intercourse. The oral prophylactic has a tubular portion which is received in the mouth and a labial portion that fits over the exterior surface of the lips.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,711,237, to Kaiser, entitled "PROTECTIVE SANITARY BARRIER FOR CPR DOLL" discloses a protective barrier which is a sheet of material with an adhesive on one side and having a central opening. The barrier is placed on the CPR doll with the central opening positioned over the mouth area.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,103,052, to Rector, entitled "NATURAL EXPRESSION FORMER" discloses a device intended for use by morticians to restore the expression of the mouth of a corpse. The device includes two cups and a medial connection between them. The curvature of the cup allows the cups to fit closely to the curvature of the teeth and gums without undue bulging outwardly of the cheeks. The anterior surface of the cups has a plurality of spurs some of which are designed to pierce and so engage the orbicularis oris muscle and thereby to retain the lips closed. Other spurs engage primarily the radial musculature and prevent these muscles from sagging, thereby restoring the natural tension and expression to them and to the face as a whole.
While each of the above mouthpieces function as desired, none of them have a moldable lip guard for musicians with orthodontic appliances, such as, without limitation, braces, wherein a posterior surface of the moldable lip guard is mold to and imprinted with the anatomic profile of the upper or lower front teeth with overlaid orthodontic appliance. The molded and imprinted posterior surface when coupled to the upper or lower front teeth prevents displacement of the moldable lip guard when playing a musical instrument. The curved and smooth anterior surface of the moldable lip guard serves to eliminate the pain and discomfort associated with embouchure and playing of various types of musical instruments and, especially, brass instruments. The thin thickness of the moldable lip guard does not hinder the musician's ability to project a forceful stream of air through the lips to the instruments mouthpiece when playing such instrument.
As will be seen more fully below, the present invention is substantially different in structure, methodology and approach from that of the prior mouthpieces.